In 24 Hours, Senate Approves Tinubu’s ₦1.77trn Loan Request

In just 24 hours, the Senate has approved the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request by President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.

Following the presentation of the committee’s report by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North), chair of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, the Senate, presided over by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, authorized the loan.
In order to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the fiscal year 2024, the President made the request on Tuesday as part of a new external borrowing plan.
In a letter to the National Assembly on Tuesday, Tinubu requested their approval of a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act that would amount to N1.767 trillion, or $2.209 billion.

It is anticipated that the new loan will extend the Federal Government’s debt servicing expenditures. The Federal Government spent $3.58 billion in the first nine months of 2024 servicing foreign debt, according to a recent report from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The amount represents a 39.77 percent increase over the $2.56 billion spent during the same period in 2023, according to the CBN report on international payment statistics.
The report states that the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 was $854.37 million in May, while the highest monthly expense in 2023 was $641.70 million in July.
The CBN’s trend in servicing foreign debt demonstrates how expensive Nigeria’s debt obligations are becoming.